Mechanism for and method of placing yarns on carriers for use in looms



Feb. 23, 1932. F. FERRARA V 1,847,055

MECHANISM FOR AND METHOD OF PLACING YARNS ON CARRIERS FOR USE IN LOOMS.

Fil ed March 11. 1929 15212833303": Fkaaafiil erma Patented Feb. 23,1932 UNITED STATES.

PAT NT FTGEFICE FRANK rnnRARA, or MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSiGNOR'TOsHA'wMuT ENGINEER- ING- CoMrANY, or DORGHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ACORPORATION or" MA SACHU- SETTS MECHANISM FOR AND METHOD OFrLACiNClYAnNs ON CARRIERS ron USE IN OOMS Application filed March 11,1929. Serial No. 34ao1s.

My inventionrelatesto arranging orpreparing series of yarns and moreparticularly In the drawingsillustrating by way of eX- ample meansembodying my invention and whereby the method thereofmay be practiced;

Fig. 1 is a view in vertical cross-section or so much ofa yarn-placingorlthreading machine involving my invention a'sisnecessar for a fullunderstanding thereof;

Fig. 2 is a part view in front'elevation of a portion of the mechanismof Fig. 1, those parts shown in Fig. 1 which would lie in front of themechanism of Fig. 2 being omitted for the sake of clearness; f

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view corresponding to a portion ofFig. 1 but with Certain clamping or holding means in normal or releasedposition;

Figs. land?) respectively are a partial end view and bottom plan of theyarn carrier or tubeframe, upon a larger scale; and

Fig. 6 1s a view corresponding to Fig-3 but illustrating a mod fication.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the yarn placing orthreading mechanism as a whole and in its general'arrangement maybe ofany usual or preferred construction, examples of such machine beingshown for instance in the patents to Hathaway and BiXby Numbers1,512,928 and 1,597,971, dated respectively October 28, 1924, and August31, 1926. In the drawingsof the present application sufficient of themechanism is fully shown to afford a ready under- 7 tensioner 25, theouter or free edge of which standing of the invention( lThe machineincludes a mam frame 1 upon which are up ,1'igl1ts, one of whicli 'isseen'at 2, supporting a cross-piece or arch S. A series or bank ofreciprocable needles 4 is mounted upon a head 5, suitable means such asone or more racks 6 moving'in guides or bars 7 and'meshing with-alikenumber of pinions 8 being pro-. vided for actuating the needles.Thelatter are preferably directed in theirmovements as by means of aguide 9 related to thecrosshead and needles in such manner that thelatter and the guide may at times move t'ogether and atothlertim'es theneedles may move relatively to the guide. If desired ad'- ditional guidemeans 10 may be provided forwardly of that previously mentioned, it be-.ing supported between arms 11 projecting forwardly from the machineframe, Ex-' tendings'ubstantially from side to side of the machine frameis a support or seat 13. to re ceive and position" a yarn carrier ortube frame 14' for the threading operation,

IThe yarn carrier or tube frame illustrated comprises the frame prop'eror bar l tto vvhichthe barriers, sp acers or guides 15 are secured as bymeansof an' atta ching strip .16seen in. Figs. land 3 and upon a largerscale in Figs, 4 and 5. Said strip includesa flange 17,hav-' ingformations for receivingv one end of each of the series of guides 15,and asecuring rib. 18 of general U-shape in cross section,

Across said rib areslots or the like 19 forlre l ceiving the respectiveguides, the latter being anchored as by means of a pin20 insertedbeneath said rib and passing through appro priate openings in therespective guides. The latter as illustrated are adapted for open orsidethreading. For retaining the yarns againstlateral displacement andinproper spaced relation, each guide or barrier 15. has a laterallyprojecting nib 22 which pro-r vides, in conjunction with the nextadjacent guide, a yarn passage 23 which may be further defined by asecond oninnerlateralpro-d jection or shoulder 24;, V r I To retain theyarnsaga-inst undesired withdrawal', retraction or runningout, inadirec-. tion of their'lengths, the yarn carrier or tube I frame isprovided with a feed-Stop device or V is formed of relatively thin metalof sufiicient resiliency to permit it to be moved or sprung from itsnormal position, as in Fig. 3, downwardly into position as in Fig. 1 topermit the entrance of the needles 4 of the' threading machine. It issecured to the main frame or bar 14 of the yarn carrier in any suitablemanner as by welding or by being in serted beneath the back clips26.and/or the End clips 27,1Fig. 4,-attached to said frame or The yarncarrier or tube frame per se as herein illustrated and described isfully disclosed and claimed in my copending application above mentioned.

Preparatory tothe threadingoperation the carrier or frame is positionedupon its support or seat 13 on the machine. It is de-' sirably thenclamped in said position, with the guides or barriers 15 properlydisposed to receive thebank or needles 4 through or between them. With acarrier or. frame as shown in Figs. 1 to 5,.however, the passages areblocked against entrance of the needles so long as'the tensioner orfeed-stop remains in normal position. Accordingly I have provided meansfor opening the yarn. passages in or between the several guides bydisplacement of said feed-stop or tensioning means 25. r

Referring particularly to Figs; 1 to 3, a depressor or clamping memberor bar extends crosswi e' the machine,having at its lower portion aseries of transverse openings or slots 31- with intermediate walls orteeth 32. Said openings, 31 are spaced and arranged to come in alignmentwith the needles, while the intermediate walls or teeth 32 are in theplanesof the bodies of the barriers or guides 15. r

Said depressor is mounted for vertical movement intoand out of posit-ionto open theyarn tensioner or feed-stop 25 and, if desired, also to clampthe frame 14in position upon its seat 13. Accordingly itis provided withupwardly projecting ears 33'receiving pins 34 at the lower ends ofvertical arms 35. The arch 3 has secured to it a corresponding number ofsimilarly spaced bearings36 providedwith an eccentric and preferablyadjustable bushing 37 supporting a shaft38.

Upon said shaft are pinned eccentrics 39, one foreach of the verticalarms pre viously. mentioned, the latter having straps 40 at their-upperends received on the re-' spective eccentrics. One or more hand levers41 are provided'upon thefshaft 38 for'rocking. it therebytoraise orlower the depressor or clamp bar 30. Prior to operation of the machinesaid depressor ismoved downwardly until the. lower faces of its walls orteeth 32 contact with the feed-stop or tensioner25, depressing thelatter sufliciently to open the yarn passages of the guides 15 forentrance of the needles. If it is to serve also as a sage 23, that is,down to the bottom of the declamp for the frame or carrier as a whole,as illustrated, it is forced sufiiciently downwardly firmly to clamp andhold the latter in position for threading. The several vertical arms 35and associated parts are distributed along the depressor or clamping bar30 in such manner that the pressure is applied equally through theentire length of the latter.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the feed-stop or yarntensioning means 25 of the yarn carrier is simultaneously controlled oropened with respect to the entire series of guides 15 and this withoutinterference with the operation of the needles, by reason-of theprovision of the openings or slots 31 aligned with the passages in or between the guides. In addition the walls or teeth 32 of the depressorserve as guides for the needles as they advance to engage the yarns Yand as they retreat with said yarns.

The depressor element 30 as illustrated 1s also provided with a memberadapted to engage the upper edges of the series of guides 15. Saidmember includes a horizontal portion 43 overlying the guides anddepending or vertical portion 44 of a total vertical extent notexceeding the distance from the top of each of the guides down to theyarn pasflected nib 22. Said means 43, 44 is preferably supported uponthe depressor 30 in a manner permitting it to yield upwardly withrespect to the latter. Accordingly it has secured to it a plurality ofpins or bolts 45 eX- tending upwardly through corresponding openings inthe overlying portion of the depressor. Coil springs 46 surround each ofsaid bolts, hearing at the lower ends against the horizontal part 43 ofthe. yieldable means 106 and at their upper ends against the bottoms ofbores 47in the depressor.v Said springs thus normally urge the yieldablemeans 43,

44 downwardly into the position such as illustrated in Fig. 3, that is,during the raised 110 or inoperative position of the depressor. As

the latter is brought down by means of the hand levers 41 said yieldablemeans 43 comes into contact with the upper edges of the guides 15. Itsfurther downward movement is thus prevented, but the depressor proper ispermitted to continue downwardly into depressing engagement-With thetensioner 25 and, when so desired, into clamping relation with the frameas a whole, through said ten.- sioner.

The position of the described parts is then substantially as in Fig. 1.It will be noted that the vertical portion 44 of the yieldable means isnot of sufficient length to extend down into the path of the needles 4.Said yieldable means 43, 44 additionally clamps and aligns the frame,through" its engagement with the guides 15. It also serves to bring anyof the guides which, may accidentally have beendeflected, back intoproper relation with the others .of-the series, but due to its'yieldableconnection with the depressor 3O it-cann'ot. engage the guidesjsoforcibly as i to tend tobend or spring them out=of-proper alignment oftodisengagethem from the car-' rier'barur," A 1; 1 It will-"beunderstood that the ends ofthe series of yarns Y to be placed orthreaded in the yarncarrier-or. tube frame are supported forengagementby the needles, substantially as shown inFig. 1.; Theextremities of the severalyarn ends or units are held in a socalledyarn-endclamp or holder 50, one for each; spoolof-ayarns, removablyseated ina clamp holder 51 mounted on the armsll of the machine framepreviously mentioned. During the threading operation the spool or spoolscarrying'the yarns are supported in any suitable manner, for example, asin the Hathaway and Bixby patents previously mentioned;

In Fig. 6is illustrated a yarn carrier or frame having a modified. formof means for practicing the'method of my invention. 'The frame proper 14is shown upon its support or seat13on a threading machine, as in Figs. 1

to .3, inposition to be threaded bythe needles 4:; In: this instancetheiyarn tensioning 0r feed-stop means comprises one or" more spring strips55-secured to the frameas by the clips 26. At its" free portion,underlying the. nibs 22 of, the guides 15, said strip ele-.

ment 55Iisformed with a deflected or cam portion 56 which is'adapted tobe engaged by the needles themselves and to. be sprung downwardlythereby to give them free passage. In some instances it'is thus possibleto=dispense with depressing means on the threading machine for openingsaid tension-- ing or feed-stop device, or, if desired, such means as inFigs. 1 to 3 may be employed in conjunction with the frame with aneedle-operable tension stop as in Fig. 6, thus insuring that any needlewhich might be out of'line with the others would not be interrupted bythe tension strip as it might otherwise be if the latter wereinsufliciently depressed.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention includes thatmethod of threading or positioning a series of yarns in a yarn carrieror tube frame of the character described, by the following steps or someof them: supporting or clamping the carrier or frame in proper alignmentwith a series of needles, opening passages in or between spacing membersor guides of the yarn frame to permit the entrance of the needles,advancing the needles into engagement with the yarns and retracting themcarrying the yarns with them, and closing the yarn passages and holdingthe yarns therein against longitudinal movement either immediately orautomatically upon removal of the car- -.rier or frame from thethreading machine.

plary methods herein shown and described, 7 its scope being pointed outin the following claims.

I claim 1. In a machine carriers equipped with yarn guides and withyarn-tensioning means projecting at least partly, across the yarnpassages of said guides, a bank of reciprocable needles, a supportwhereon the carrier is positionable with its yarn passages respectivelyin line i with said needles, an elongated element parallel with saidcarrier support, and means to move said element toward and away from thepath of the needles, said element having a leading portion constructedto permitpassage ofthe needles transversely thereof and adaptedto engagesaid tensioning meansof the carrier to clear the needle path.

- 2. In a machine for threading tuft-yarn carriers equipped with guidesproviding yarn passages and with cooperatingf yarn tensioning meansnormally at least partly" blocking said passages, a support onthe machine for such: carrier, a movable bar-like element along'and spacedfrom saidsupport, and meansto move said element to'bringit into openingengagement with said tensioning means of a supported carrier. 3.;In amachine for threading tuft-yarn- -carriers equipped with yarn guides andwithyarn-tensioning means projecting at least partly across the yarnpassages of saidguides, a bank-of reciprocable needles, a horizontalseat for a carrier to position the same for threading by said needles, averticallymovable bar parallel with-and above said carrier seat, thelower edgeof said bar formed with a series of alternate transverseopenings and walls, and means to move said bar for threading tuft-yarninto and out of a position whereinsaid'walls V engage and depress saidtensioning means out of. the paths of the :needles' while said openingsare brought into line with the needles. v.

LIn a machine for threading tuft-yarn carriers equipped with yarn guidesand with yarn-tensioning means projectingv at" least partly across theyarn passages of said guides, a bank of reciprocable needles, a hori-vzontal seat for a carrier to. positionthe same for threading by saidneedles, a vertically movable bariparallelwith and above said carrierseat, the lower edge of said bar formed with a series of alternatetransverse en-in andwa'lls means tomove said bar into and outof positionwherein said walls engage and depress said tensioning means needles, andmeans on said bar yieldin glyengageable over the yarn guides of thecarrier in the. depressing position 'of said bar; c g 5; In a machineforthreading tuft-yarn carriers-equipped with guides providing yarnpassages and with cooperating yarntensioning means normally: at leastpartly blocking said passages, a support on the machine for suchcarrier, a movable-bar like elementalong and spaced from said support,

.means to move-said element to bring itinto opening engagement with saidtensioning means of asupported' carrier and simultaneously to clamp saidcarrier as a whole upon said support.

, 6. In a. machine for threading tuft-yarn carriers equipped with guidesprovidingthrough, said means having along its engag ing portion aseriesof formations through which the needles may be passed 7. In a machinefor threading tuft-yarn carriers; equipped with vguides providing yarnpassages and with cooperatingyarntensioning means normally at leastpartly blocking said passages, in combination, a bank of reciprocableneedles, a support for positioning the carrier with the yarn passagesthereof in alignment with said needles, a bar extending along andmovable toward and away from said support to clamp the carrier thereon,and means on said bar to depress or open the yarn-tensioning means ofthe carrier.

8. In a machine for threading tuft-yarn carriers equipped with guidesproviding yarn passages and with cooperating yarn tensioning meansnormally at least partly blocking-said passages, in combination, a bankof reciprocable needles, a support for positioning tliecarrier'with theyarn passages thereof in alignment with said needles, and a longitudinalelement-movable toward and away from the said support and having alongits leading portion means for engaging and opening or depressing theyarn-tensionmg means of the positioned carrier but leaving the paths'ofthe needles unobstructed.

9. In a machine for threading tuft-yarn carriers equipped with guidesproviding yarnpassages and with cooperating yarntensioning meansnormally at least partly blocking said passages, a support on the ma- Ichine operatively-to position such carrier for- 1 threading, and meansmovably supportedon the machine simultaneously to open all said passagesfor threading.

10. That method of placing and holding a series of tuft yarns or yarnunits for use in a loom which comprises, providing a spool-supportingyarn carrier with passages for spacing and guiding the individual yarnsor yarn units, at least partially and yieldably blockingxsaid passagesagainst free movement of the respective yarns or units therethrough,passing yarn-engaging needles through said passages and thereby clearingthe latter, withdrawing said needles and'the yarns engaged by them andto place the latter in the respective passages, and again yieldablyblocking said passages sufliciently to prevent undesired longitudinalmovement of the yarns so placed therein.

11. That method of'placing and holding a series of tuft yarns or yarnunits for use in a loom which comprises, providing a spoolsupportingyarn carrier with passages for spacing. and guiding the individual yarnor yarn units, yieldably and commonly uniformly constricting or barringsaid passages,

rigidlysupporting the'carrier for drawing of the yarns into itspassages,mechanically I deflecting simultaneously, commonly and uniforinly theconstricting or barring means for all passages, drawing in the yarns oryarn units simultaneously through the respective passages, andthereafter again simultaneously and commonlyyieldably constricting thelatter uniformly sufiiciently to retain the yarns again undesiredwithdrawal, retraction or advancement with respect to said passages,during transportation or-use of the carrier.

In testimony'wliereof, I have signed my name to. this specification.

" r FRANK 'FERRARA.

